Lawrence affirms the proposition that the Constitution protects a ‘zone of privacy’ from government regulation. Scalia understands that. His angry dissent clearly sets out his belief that "a governing majority’s belief that certain sexual behavior is immoral and unacceptable constitutes a rational basis for regulation." Scalia goes further: he asserts that "there is no right to liberty under the Due Process Clause, though today’s opinion repeatedly makes that claim."
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The Muffled Voice of The Child: American Health Care & Children’s Rights
The American legal system accords a high value to personal and bodily autonomy; in the context of medical care, physicians who violate patient autonomy may even be subject to criminal sanctions. It is axiomatic that competent individuals have the right to refuse medical treatment. But children are not recognized as competent as a matter of law. Their privacy rights may be infringed upon a showing of a significant state interest, although the state must show a compelling interest to justify similar infringements on the rights of an adult. Moreover, children are naturally dependent on parents or guardians who are legally presumed to have their best interests at heart. Lost among these legal axioms and presumptions are the voices of the children.
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Words, Words, Words
If any of these answers comes as a surprise, it is because Americans have increasingly substituted labels for analysis. Turn on talk radio, or one of the numerous television shows where political pundits scream at each other and you will hear terms like liberal or right-wing used to dismiss a point of view with which the commentator disagrees. What you won’t often hear is a reasoned discussion of the merits or flaws of that point of view.
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Protecting the Idea We Hate
A friend of mine once summed up the purpose of Bill of Rights by analogy; as he put it, "Poison gas is a great weapon until the wind changes." The best reason for refusing to allow government to suppress bad ideas is that tomorrow, government may use that authority to suppress good ones. Our legal and economic systems are based upon our belief in the marketplace–if I make a better widget, it will beat out the competition; if I have a better idea, it will eventually emerge victorious.
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Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Brother Junipers restaurant–a longtime fixture on Massachusetts Avenue–has closed its doors. For many of us, it was a devastating loss.
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